One Good Idea Topics

Ready to research? You will find lots of helpful information here on all of the One Good Idea competition topics. See what inspires you to take action!

Energy you use every day

Think about the energy you use every day… taking a shower, cooking food, listening to music, charging your phone, traveling to school .. and it doesn't stop there. Energy is used at home for heating, lighting, cooking, laundry and at school for interactive whiteboards, photocopiers and computers. Energy is even used to produce, package and transport the clothes you wear and the food you eat.

Most of the energy used in Ireland comes from fossil fuels. Burning fossil fuels produces carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases causing climate change.

How can you make a difference?

There are lots of ways to use less energy, save money and take action against climate change. Research our topics below and choose one you would like to base your One Good Idea on.

Topics and factsheets

We have compiled a list of research topics for both primary and post primary students. Choose a topic that you find particularly interesting and download the factsheet for more helpful information. Let's get started!

The children became so enthusiatic about saving energy that parents were telling me that they were made to feel bad at home if they didn't follow the energy saving tips for washing clothes and airdrying.

Teacher, Castlegar N.S.

Start your project

It's time to get working on your project. Do you believe you can raise awareness about energy use and inspire others to make simple changes in the way they use energy every day?

Join the movement and encourage people to use, less use renewable and to take climate action! What’s your One Good Idea?

Further information

Participation in the competition

Team members submitting an entry must be registered students in a schools from the Republic of Ireland to be a valid entry. The Promoter (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, situated at Wilton Park House, Wilton Place, Dublin 2) reserves the right to seek verification from the relevant school of the registration of any students who have entered the competition.

It is the responsibility of all participating schools to give permission for their students to participate in the programme and oversee their participation therein. A teacher/principal must sign each team's entry form to validate permission for all participants. The promoter is not liable in any way for costs, expenses, damages, liability or injury arising out of or in any way connected with the Awards programme.

Each team will comprise of a minimum of two and a maximum of six students.

Entries must be anchored in energy / climate change related topics as outlined in the project pack and on the website.

The closing date for the receipt of Campaign Proposals is Friday 6th November 2018.

All submissions must be made via the online platform.

Each teacher that enters teams into the competition will go into a prize draw for a teacher’s prize of a hotel voucher. The winner will be announced in May 2019 and notified by phone, email or mail. The teacher’s prize is non-refundable and cannot be exchanged. No cash equivalents are available as an alternative for the prize that is offered.

The shortlisted Primary and Post Primary teams will be selected and notified the week beginning 7th January 2019.

The shortlisted Primary and Post Primary teams will receive a workshop with their One Good Idea mentor before mid February 2019 in their school.

The shortlisted Primary and Post Primary teams will receive feedback and assistance from the One Good Idea team on how to activate their campaign and document it in their Presentation Pitch / Video throughout January/February/March 2019.

The closing date for receipt of the Presentation Pitch is 8th March 2019 or such later date as may be advised on the website.

Primary school's Presentation Pitch must include a campaign diary form submitted online and a 4 minute video of their pitch. Post Primary schools must submit a 1 minute video and campaign diary form online. Teams may also submit additional work such as photos / poster etc, this is optional.

The teacher / school must verify it has obtained valid consent for the use of any images or videos of a minor when submitting their projects.

Please keep a record of all creative pieces on an electronic/or digital format. The Promoter requests that all audio pieces can be electronically transferred.

Real Nation and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland cannot accept responsibility for lost, damaged or delayed entries. Proof of posting is not proof of receipt. Entries cannot be returned to entrants.

The finalists will be announced and notified week commencing 25th March 2019.

Employees and family members of employees or persons directly associated with Real Nation and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland are not eligible to enter this competition.

The personal details of entrants will be used solely for the purposed of the One Good Idea programme. All personal details submitted by entrants will be treated with confidence and in full compliance with GDPR legislation.

Individual prizes, all of which are based on the category of the prize winner, will be detailed on the website in advance of the National Final, May 2019.

The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. No cash equivalents are available as an alternative for the prizes that are offered.

Prize winners will receive their trophies on the day of the National Final.

Prize winners and teachers may be asked to participate in publicity (photographs, interviews, quotations etc.), in which case consent forms will be made available.

Copyright of all original material entered in this competition is retained by the author. By submitting a project for entry, the entrants and the relevant school or college grant the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland the right to reproduce the entry (in full or in part) on the radio, on the website at www.seai.ie or in such other publication as the Authority might nominate, without payment.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland reserves the right to amend, withdraw or terminate the competition or alter the specification of the competition without prior notice should that specified be unavailable for reasons beyond their control.

Notwithstanding that the winners may have been declared, if the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland discovers before the distribution of prizes that for any reason under these rules a winner should have been ineligible to enter the competition or if the entry should have been declared invalid, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland reserves the right to determine that a winning team is disqualified.

All entrants agree to be bound by the rules of the competition; failure on the part of any entrant to adhere to any or all of these rules will render the entry in question invalid.